What it means to be Normal
by Charlie'sAngel656
Summary: Part of Normal's past is coming back to interact with the futures of everyone around him. What will he do to stop it, and what can Max do to help?
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1: Normal is anything but  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine…. believe me, if any of this was mine, things would be WAY different!  
  
A/N: This is weird, I decided to try a Normal fic. This could be easier than other stuff I've written, but way crazier. The whole thing's in Normal POV, and some of it deals with his past. How's Max involved in all this?  
  
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These slackers really don't know me as well as they think they do. To them, I'm just the anal, control-freak boss. If they knew the real me, it would scare them to death.  
  
God, what's wrong with Max now? She looks sick. But I can't get too soft. "Bip bip bip, missy! These packages aren't delivering themselves!"  
  
"Normal, I'm takin' a break."  
  
"Just what f- Max?" Before I could finish my sentence, she was on the ground. I may be cold, but I know when something's wrong. And this definitely looks like some sort of seizure. Is she epileptic?  
  
"Normal…pills…b-backpack."  
  
I grabbed the white bottle from her bag and bent down next to her. There weren't many people there to witness my slip into kindness, but the few that were there stared. "Get to work! Nothing for you losers to see here! Move!" I glanced at the label on the bottle. Tryptophan…where have I heard that before? "You a druggie, little miss?"  
  
"N-no. Seizures…sera-seratonin."  
  
"As long as it's a medical condition." I sighed. When she said seratonin, something clicked. The reason I know Tryptophan is because I've used it before. It was a part of the reason I'm here. It all started with a lab called Manticore.  
  
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A/N: I know this was ridiculously short, but it's just an intro. What happens next? Voice your opinions through REVIEWS!!!! If I get 5 reviews, I'll post the next part. 


	2. Who says Normal's a good thing?

Chapter 2: Who says Normal's a good thing?  
  
Disclaimer: do you honestly think I own these people? All I own is a computer.  
  
A/N: My last chapter was better received than my other stuff…and I love people who read and REVIEW.  
  
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How could Max be Manticore? Well, I guess she's the right age. What was it her application said? 17…that was almost four years ago. Maybe she is...  
  
Oh, great. Original Cindy's here. Just another person to boss around, and she'll freak when she sees Max. Then again, she lives with Max, doesn't she? Maybe she'll know something about this.  
  
"Normal! Whatcha doin' to my boo?" Yup. She took one look and thought the worst.  
  
"Original Cindy?" I have to keep my voice down, no need to draw attention to us. "Get Alec over here to help me get her in the back."  
  
"Another seizure bitch? Hate 'em, they really take a lot outa my girl." She walked over to the lockers, and I could see her talking to Alec, who immediately walked over and lifted her up. I walked behind him with the keys to the storage room and Max's pills.  
  
"Original Cindy, when was the last time she had a seizure?" Hmm, the famous Monty Cora is concerned….  
  
"'Bout three days after she came back, I guess. I remember she was real stressed about the…well, y'know."  
  
"What causes these?" I saw Original Cindy glance at Alec.  
  
"Max has a…. a neurological condition that causes her to not produce enough seratonin. She has to take tryptophan every now and then when her levels get real low."  
  
"Has she always had these seizures?"  
  
Alec answered first. "Always."  
  
"There's something I don't understand, though. I've only known one group of people who suffer from a condition like this. They're all about Max's age. People called X5s." I think it's safe to assume they both know something they're not telling me, and I'm pretty sure I know what it is. I guess I was right, now they're both givin' me funny looks.  
  
"X-X5s? How do you know about those?" I can tell Alec's panicking, he woke Max up.  
  
"There's a lot you don't know about me. I had a life before Jam Pony, before the Pulse. As shocking as it is to you, I'm a very smart man. I went to medical school; I have degrees in psychology and medicine, not to mention genetics. You think you know a lot, when you don't even know my real name. What, you think I was born Reagan Ronald? God, no. My parents were rich, uptight Democrats. They named me James Earl, after the 39th President, their favorite. I was the typical brainy rebel, so of course the first name that came to mind after I got out of this mess was Reagan Ronald. But I know that's not what you want to hear. See, it all started- hey! Before I get into my past, I need to know what you know. Original Cindy, why don't you enlighten us?"  
  
"All I know is my boo's some kinda revved up supergirl or something, and that she has these black-helicopter dudes always on her ass."  
  
"Okay, what about you, Alec?" I can't help but be a little nicer to him, he's a fighting legend! (Not to mention those dreams…)  
  
He turned around and pulled down the collar of his turtleneck, revealing a barcode. That barcode told me all I needed to know.  
  
"And does Max have one, too?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay, I guess it's safe to talk to you guys. So it all started when I was fresh out of med school. I was recruited, along with several others from my class and the one below us, by a man named Sandeman. Paul Sandeman. He had an interesting idea…"  
  
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A/N: This is where I'm leaving it. If you want me to continue, you have to review, okay? So what are you doing still reading my babbling? Go review!  
  
A/N2: do you know how hard it is to think of chapters with Normal in them? I'll let you go REVIEW now…. bye-bye. 


	3. Who are we to judge what Normal is, anyw...

Chapter 3: Who are we to judge what Normal is, anyway?  
  
Disclaimer: Not again, I'm sick of this. I think you know it's not mine by now, and I'm even starting to accept the fact that it never will be.  
  
A/N: This whole chapter's one giant flashback. At the end it goes back to the timeframe of the rest of the story. Also, DDA happened, because I want to play around later with Normal's emotions during that ep.  
  
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"James?" I looked up to see a tall man standing in front of me.  
  
"Yes?" Who is this guy, and what does he want?  
  
"My name's Paul Sandeman, it's nice to meet you. I just wanted to ask if you would be interested in a lecture I'm doing tomorrow in one of the science classrooms. It's by invitation only, but you're welcome to attend. It's scheduled for noon, and there are ten others invited. Just show up if you'd like."  
  
"Alright, I will."  
  
"Thank you, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."  
  
Now who was that guy? He said his name was Paul…. he wasn't a student here, that much is obvious.  
  
*******The next morning*******  
  
"Hello, everyone. As you may have discovered, all of you are pursuing a degree in some sort of medical field. That's exactly why you're here." What's this, some kind of science project? Hey, there's Howie. Adriana? What's she doing here, I thought she was an English major…. there's Elizabeth, Gerry, Pierre…I guess those over there are the younger ones, they look scared.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adriana raise her hand. "Mr.…. Sandeman? If you don't mind me asking, what is this about?"  
  
"Please, call me Paul, Miss…."  
  
"Vertes."  
  
"Miss Vertes. All of you have been called here because you excel in medicine or genetics. This is important, because I'm in charge of a new project. How many of you have ever been interested in working for the government?"  
  
I saw a few hands raised around the room, and I raised mine as well.  
  
"Good. This project combines your studies with benefiting society. After this meeting, if you'll just write your address on this form, you'll be receiving information on the project within the next week. Does anyone have any questions?"  
  
I raised my hand again. "I do. What exactly will we be doing?"  
  
"The details will be laid out in your letters. But the project basically involves genetic manipulation to isolate diseases and make a better condition of life."  
  
I nodded, satisfied that I would be able to do something good for society and piss my parents off at the same time.  
  
"Alright, if there are no further questions, you're free to go. I'll be speaking to some of you individually over the course of the next several weeks."  
  
We left, mumbling in confusion about what he meant. I saw Elizabeth in front of me. "Liz!"  
  
"What is it, Jimmy?" Elizabeth had never liked me much, and it showed in every word she spoke to me.  
  
"What do you think about this?"  
  
"I think it's a good opportunity. You know I wanted to go into government, but my parents made me be a doctor like my sister."  
  
I nodded, not really interested. I moved past her and outside to the courtyard, where I paused before I walked to my dorm.  
  
*******One Week Later*******  
  
There's a letter from that Sandeman guy. I skimmed it quickly, then realized it said pretty much exactly what he had told me. The one thing that caught my eye was a notice at the end of the letter. Warning: This is an unknown government program. You must not go into detail about the program with anyone who is not part of it.  
  
I wonder what that means? I guess they want to make sure they won't have any problems with it before they publicize it.  
  
I just got a phone call from Paul. "Hello?"  
  
"James? There's something we left out of the letters, but we're specifically asking for a few of you. If you're interested, you can fly out next week to begin working."  
  
"Sure. Do you know who else is going?"  
  
"You'll have to find out when you get there."  
  
*******Monday, May 15, 1989*******  
  
I flew out the day after my college graduation. As soon as my plane landed, I was escorted to a car by several older men. One of them introduced himself.  
  
"You're James, right? I'm Donald Lydecker. This project is directed on a military base. Most people know the main headquarters as Vivadyne Labs, but the actual name of the project is Manticore. You can refer to it as Manticore to the other scientist, but to anyone else it's Vivadyne. You'll be briefed on your job as soon as we get to the base."  
  
"Alright."  
  
Once the car pulled through a chain-link gate with razor wire over the top, I saw a large military compound. I was directed to the third building, where Paul met me. "James! There are a few things I'm afraid we couldn't include in the letters. This project is partially designed to create an advanced group of people. We've failed on several accounts, so we're bringing in new scientists. Each series is referred to with an X, then the number of the series, followed by the identification number of the children. They're all supposed to undergo training as a sort of military supplement. That's why you were told not to speak about this. Now there's someone I'd like you to meet." He led me to a small room, where I saw what I took to be a small child, about five years old. When the boy turned around, however, I was shocked. He looked almost dog-like, with exaggerated features and large teeth. Paul spoke before I could process what I was seeing. "This is Joshua. He's the first product of our studies. You see, our studies are incorporating human and animal DNA to try to create a stronger, superior person. We obviously put too much dog DNA in this one, but he's still bright. Joshua, say hello to Dr. Earl."  
  
Joshua spoke with a high voice, which sounded about the same pitch as a young puppy's bark. "Hello, Dr. Earl. Father, where Isaac?"  
  
"He has a younger…. well, a brother of sorts, I suppose. Isaac hasn't been as obedient as Joshua. He's more of a rebel. Joshua, Isaac's with one of the doctors right now. He'll be back soon."  
  
Joshua nodded, looking like he accepted the answer.  
  
"Do you understand what we do, James?"  
  
"Yes, I think I do."  
  
"Good. Oh, and from now on, on the base you'll have to address me or any of the project's other directors as Sir or Ma'am. Just a formality, you understand, right?"  
  
"Yes. Sir."  
  
He smiled. "As long as we've covered everything, one of the guards will show you to your apartment. It's already been furnished, and all of your things have been taken there. Oh, and Adriana Vertes is supposed to arrive tomorrow, along with Elizabeth…. what was her name?"  
  
"Renfro."  
  
"Yes, of course, Renfro. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Yes sir." I wonder what Dri and Liz will have to say about this?  
  
*******Present Time, Jam Pony*******  
  
"I had no idea what kind of terrible things I was getting myself into. I left Manticore in early 2003 and came here. One of my friends helped me change my identity. My parents were deceased, so it was easy to make it look like James Earl never existed." I noticed everyone giving me terrified looks. "What?"  
  
"You…you were around when we were created. You knew Joshua. Omigod, this is too much. I- I can't take this."  
  
"Wait a minute. You know Joshua?"  
  
"Yeah. Well, I guess I have to explain where I really was when I left. It's a long story. Well, I guess it all started with the first escape…." Max trailed off.  
  
"In 2009." I supplied.  
  
"You knew?"  
  
"I was contacted by Dri."  
  
"Anyway, the escape was not my idea. I mean, escape to what? It was Zack's idea…."  
  
Who would've thought I'd be sitting here listening to one of my creations tell me how she started working for me?  
  
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A/N: The lines Max used to begin her story were some of her lines from Pilot. The next chapter is going to explain something else that Normal did at Manticore that involves Max. I can't take credit for the idea for the next chapter, but I'll explain that then. Read and REVIEW, read and REVIEW!!! 


	4. Normal is overrated

Chapter 4: Normal is overrated  
  
Disclaimer: I'm not doing this again. Not mine, blah blah woof woof.  
  
A/N: This is really the chapter that works most toward a sequel, and the chapter after this may be the last one. The idea for this chapter really belongs to Ria, and she pretty much saved me by giving my story a direction. So thanks Ria, you're the best.  
  
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I interrupted Max before she could continue. "Zack?"  
  
"X5-599. The CO of our unit."  
  
"599. What ever happened to him?"  
  
"Long story. Anyway, our seizures had just started, and he knew what happened to Jack because of them."  
  
I didn't have to ask who she meant, I remembered the only X5 to be experimented on for the seizures. "Just so you know, I wasn't a part of that. I wouldn't operate on one of the kids. I did watch, though. I remember one thing that stood out from that day. Right after they started, I saw X5-452 looking into the room. I knew she had some kind of connection with all the others, she was the most emotionally normal one of the bunch." I saw Max and Alec exchange a look, but Max shook her head.  
  
"Anyway, my seizures started the night before the escape. He knew what would happen to me if they- you- found out. After we escaped, we split up. I came here and met Kendra, then Original Cindy. That's why I started working here. Almost two years ago, I met Logan. He helped me find the others. After that, I found a woman who had known my mother. Then Zack tried to drag me away. He worked here, actually. Remember Sam?"  
  
"That explains why he left so quickly…"  
  
"He was always trying to get me to leave with him, I know he was jealous of Logan. I met a few more of my siblings. Brin, Tinga, Jace, Krit, Syl…. Ben."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"734, 656, 798, 471, 701, 493. Ben was the only one I couldn't protect. He was…. confused. There were too many things he didn't have answers for. He held onto our belief in the Blue Lady. He- he killed for her. I knew what he was doing. I had no choice. I killed him, Lydecker was chasing us."  
  
"I tried to warn them something would happen to him. He always responded strangely to the psych tests. Did you tell 452? They were like brother and sister."  
  
"Normal? I am 452."  
  
"Oh! Alec, which one are you?"  
  
"494."  
  
"493's twin…."  
  
"Yup." He looked over at Max. "Maxie?"  
  
"Don't call me that! Anyway, last year, Krit, Syl, Zack, and I raided the Manticore site. We managed to destroy the DNA lab, but I was shot. Zack…. killed himself, to give me his heart. I was recaptured, but I escaped, along with Alec and Joshua. Renfro's dead. Vertes tried to double-cross me and Jace, but she's dead too. Anyway, now some guy with a breeding-cult deal tries to catch all the transgenics."  
  
"The thing on the news last week…." Suddenly a lot was making sense. I was in a panic last week. I had found out the lab was destroyed, and I understood what they had done, but now I had to be more careful about not revealing anything about my past. At least now I had someone who understood what I was dealing with. "That thing they were talking about, that was Joshua, wasn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, but he didn't hurt the girl. They were running from the sector cops, and he left her so she could be saved. I'm guessing White got to her before the police."  
  
"Anything else you'd like to add?"  
  
"Umm, about Logan…see, Manticore doesn't like him very much. He sorta caused some trouble, by helping me. So they gave me this virus thingie, and if I touch him, he dies."  
  
"They didn't like him because he's Eyes Only."  
  
"How'd you know?"  
  
"I knew someone named Nathan Herrero, and anyway, Don calls me sometimes. Like I said, I have connections. What kind of virus is that, exactly?"  
  
"A nano-virus targeted to his DNA. It's apparently something the X series is immune to, last time we slipped up, Joshua transfused him to kill the virus."  
  
"They used my idea?" This is a bright spot.  
  
"Your idea?" She looked confused.  
  
"Yeah. The whole nano-virus thing was my creation. They used it to get rid of Manticore's enemies. I guess they liked it."  
  
"You wouldn't know how to cure this, would you?"  
  
"I think I can remember something, maybe. It might take a while, I haven't been doing anything scientific in years."  
  
"I never thought I'd say this, but thanks, Normal!"  
  
"One more thing, before I forget. Last year, right before you were shot or whatever that was. That thing when Original Cindy pulled you out of work, with the pizza guy…"  
  
"Oh, god, I forgot! Sorry. One of the side effects of feline DNA."  
  
"Trust me, I remember. The X4s had the same reactions. Glad it wasn't anything other than that."  
  
"Of course not! Eww."  
  
"Anyway, I think I have a theory about the seizures. Talk to me in a few days, and we'll work on all these little 'gifts'."  
  
"'Kay."  
  
This is just great, now I have two X5s to worry about, and I'm probably going to have the government on my ass pretty soon. Could things get any worse?  
  
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A/N: If you want a sequel, you have to REVIEW! Thanks for the chapter idea again, Ria. You'll get a character named after you, don't worry. 


	5. What happens when everything you thought...

Chapter 5: What happens when everything you thought was Normal isn't?  
  
Disclaimer: God, give it up! They're mine, you can't have 'em! How 'bout…not.  
  
A/N: Thanks, everybody who reviewed. Here it is at last, the last chapter of my fic. Why did I decide to end it after only five chapters? My last fic proved that the first five chapters of my fics are the best, and after that they fizzle out. And anyway, there'll be a sequel with more M/L action.  
  
A/N2: This one starts out differently than all my other chapters. The rest of it is in Normal POV, though, so there's not much change. (For the first part, White thoughts are in )  
  
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Ames White sat at his desk, shifting through papers about reports of transgenic sightings. And that's all they are. Reports. Not like any of these mean anything. Then one of his assistants walked in. "Sir?"  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"There's a phone call for you."  
  
"Who is it?"  
  
"They didn't say. All they said was fe'nos tol."  
  
"Fe'nos tol?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"I'll take it in here."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
White picked up his phone. "Fe'nos tol."  
  
"Fe'nos tol."  
  
"Why have you called on me?"  
  
"There has been a threat. You need to get 452. We have a familiar who can head the capture. Just contact him."  
  
"I'll see what I can do."  
  
"Don't contact me until you have her."  
  
"Understood." He ended the call and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed the number of his contact in Sector 3. "For my father before me, for my sons."  
  
"For my father before me, for my sons." Jared Micas looked around the store he was in. "What do you need, brother?"  
  
"There is a transgenic, 452. We want her in custody. Can you do it?"  
  
"Anything for the group."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
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Jared motioned to the familiars around him. "Ready?"  
  
They nodded. They had formed a circle around Jam Pony, ready to catch the transgenic.  
  
"Move in."  
  
They ran into the building, which was nearly empty. The only people not on runs were Max, Original Cindy, and Normal. None of them had trouble fighting Max, and they easily grabbed her after they sedated the other two.  
  
***************************Normal POV***************************************************  
  
Oh great. Who are those guys? Well, this has got to be bad. Whoa, hold on. Why are they…. what are they doing??  
  
There's one behind me now. What's that in his hand? Oh, my god. Uhhh…  
  
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A/N: you want more, you review. I know this was a little different, and it was different than I planned. If I get 20 reviews, I will definitely post a sequel. So go and review!!! 


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